If You Thought The MVP Race Was A Bloodbath, What The Hell Is Going To Happen With All NBA Teams?
A few weeks ago I blogged about how this was setting up to be one of the more insane MVP runs we've had in the league considering you could make the case for like 6 different guys. Injuries sort of ruined certain cases, and for the most part we're looking at Jokic as the leader in the clubhouse. Guys like Embiid/Steph might challenge, but that picture has become a little more clear.
That made my brain wander to something else. What the hell is going to happen with the All NBA teams? You'll remember, that shit impacts potential extensions. Being selected can have big time implications for a team's salary cap moving forward, and also something that might help a team convince a player to stay because now they are eligible for a bigger extension. What's crazy is this is going to be even harder than the MVP discussion. You only get 15 spots, but there are way more than 15 guys you could make the case for.
I do wonder how much injuries will impact this. If Harden misses the rest of the season to prepare for the playoffs, he'll have played just 34 games as a Net. Let's say LeBron does the same, his total will finish at 41. AD could end up with fewer than that. If on one hand we're saying availability matters when it comes to the MVP, is it going to matter when it comes to All NBA? That's the pickle. Especially as we see more and more teams shut guys down. Kawhi is out for a while and he's at 46 games for example.
You then have to think of how much can be impacted by the stretch run. What if Curry continues to go on this run? How do you leave him off. You'd have to maybe put him ahead of one of Luka/Dame/Harden, three guys that are legit MVP candidates. Will it come down to standings? What if GS catches DAL, does that mean Curry gets Luka's spot? If Dame keeps POR above both, does that make him a lock?
So I went ahead and mapped out how I think it'll go. The truth is it'll probably be a little contradictory. Availability will matter for some and not for others. It's why this is such a mess. If I had to make a choice right this minute, I think this is where I net out
First Team All NBA
Steph Curry
Luka Doncic
Kawhi Leonard
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Nikola Jokic
I'm assuming a couple of things here. First, that Curry does not slow down over these last 14ish games. This run goes all the way through to the end of the year. I think that's what it's going to have to take for me to put him on First Team. The Luka choice over Dame was tough for me, but their points are now basically the same, Luka averages more assists and rebounds and shoots 48% from the floor. Outside of the guard issue, everything else is pretty obvious.
Second Team All NBA
Damian Lillard
James Harden
Jayson Tatum
LeBron James
Joel Embiid
This is where things get a little contradictory for me. There's no way I can't have James Harden not on either of my first two teams. I don't care that he's played just 34 games. He's been a monster. While last year LeBron made All NBA First team as a point guard, I think they find a way to give him 2nd team as a forward this year. Despite his injuries. Same thing with Embiid. I don't care if Gobert played more games, Embiid is the 2nd team center and I'm ready to say that is not debatable.
Also, I only have Tatum in this spot assuming he continues his post covid production which has basically been around 27/8/4 for the past month. If that comes down a little bit, I'd probably flip him with George.
Third Team All NBA
Kyrie Irving
Chris Paul
Paul George
Julius Randle
Rudy Gobert
OK, this is where things really start to get dicey. I do think Kyrie has an inside track to one of the guard spots. We don't have to overthink this. He's been incredible this season. The second spot is where my first question pops up. Are we ready to give this spot to Booker over CP3? I dunno. I see both arguments. Booker is their best player talent wise, but CP3 has had an insane season as the point guard of this team that very well might end up 1st in the West. He made 2nd team last year in OKC and then has been better this season. There has to be a Sun on there in my opinion, even at the expense of someone like Donovan Mitchell. It's also a little weird to now have Ben Simmons on this team, but which guard do you put him over? If the Suns have a better record than PHI, how can they not have a single All NBA player? Things do get a little easier if we see Harden left off all together simply because of games played, sort of like what I bet happens with AD.
You'll also notice I did something that some might consider a hot take. I have Julius Randle over Zion at the moment. I know the numbers favor Zion a little bit, but if the Knicks snag a top 5 seed and the Pelicans miss the play in all together, I don't know how you can't reward Julius Randle. I doubt this happens, but at the moment it's where I would go. You could make the argument that Zion could snag George's spot, but have you seen him lately? Guy has been on another level and will probably put up similar production the rest of the way with Kawhi out.
So just think of the names that got left off
Donovan Mitchell
Trae Young
Ben Simmons
Zion Williamson
Zach LaVine
Devin Booker
De'Aaron Fox
Anthony Davis (injury)
Russell Westbrook
Bradley Beal
Karl Anthony Towns
Jimmy Butler
I mean shit, Beal might lead the league in scoring and not even make All NBA! What guard are you putting him over? That's 26 guys not counting AD that you could make a legit case for the 15 spots. What about someone like LaVine that isn't hurt, but is missing games due to health and safety protocols. Should he be penalized for that?
So that's my list as of April 21st. For me, it's going to be fluid. If Curry comes way back down to earth and Dame goes on a run, things will probably change. We may have no choice but to penalize someone like Harden for his games played if other guards continue to go nuts and he's out for the rest of the regular season. If Randle carries the Knicks to a 4 seed, I don't know how you can leave him off, if they somehow run out of gas and find themselves in the play in game or something, maybe Zion has a better case.
It's going to be fascinating to see how it all plays out and how much consistency there will be for All NBA teams compared to the individual awards. Now that I've given you my list, if you had to give all three teams right this second, what does yours look like?